Interview by Raïssa Blankoff, scientific journalist, present at the conference on the interest of alternative medicines in the treatment of cancer patients

On Saturday, October 20, the 30^th meetings of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, initiated by the Dr. Serge Rafal¹. This day made it possible to constitute a place of exchange and reflection with academics, hospitals, researchers, allopathic doctors, specialists, with the objective of positioning alternative and complementary practices at the heart of modern medicine.

Professor François Goldwasser, head of the Cochin Cancer Center and professor at the Paris Descartes Faculty of Medicine, gave his take on what cancer is today: “These patients from a heterogeneous and complex population are suffering from multiple pathologies whose profile is outside clinical studies and from which no one can alone say what may happen. Their journey has become chaotic and unpredictable. However, to secure this route, programs (ARIANE 1 and ARIANE 2) have been created in Cochin. The accumulation of data linking cancer and lifestyle has led to the development at the hospital of a BALANCED course integrating diet and physical exercise. “

Dr Florian Scotté, hospital practitioner in the medical oncology department of the Georges Pompidou European Hospital presented the example of an oncology service that integrates Alternative and Complementary Medicine. He indicates that the Directorate General of Health has set up a mission around this concept by naming these practices the ” unconventional therapeutic practices ”. But the lack of recognition and the vagueness still prevail to this day. What exists today at the Georges Pompidou Hospital is an associative network of 15 people who provide supportive oncological care to sick people throughout the disease, together with surgical treatments, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. This support is done only on medical prescription and uses homeopathy, acupuncture, auriculotherapy, behavioral therapies, bodily practices such as Qi Gong, yoga, not to mention aesthetic support. 

Aline Mauranges, Cécile Rémy, Estelle Wytszitc and Jean-Pierre Lotz from the Department of Medical Oncology and Cellular Therapy at Tenon Hospital  indicate that one in two patients now uses complementary medicines: nutrition, complementation and / or supplementation, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine, osteopathy, relaxation, reflexology, etc. pain, palliative care and psycho-aesthetic care already present in most centers. Thus was born the association ABEIL (Association Bien-être Here and There), the launch of which took place on the day of the conference. One of the missions that the ABEIL association gives itself by continuing to create supportive oncological care is to try to establish a framework around the use of complementary medicines (measure 42 of the “cancer plan”). This supportive care is intended to manage the side effects of cancer therapy. The first step of the ABEIL project is to assess the needs of patients by means of a questionnaire which has just been implemented (October 2012) with patients in day hospitalization. The association hopes to integrate, in addition to existing support, physical activity adapted to the patient’s physical condition.

Francis Levi and Pasquale Innominato, researchers at the Chronotherapy Unit of the Oncology Department and INSERM UMRS 776 “Biological rhythms and cancers” at Paul Brousse Hospital, Villejuif, worked on biological rhythms in the care of patients with d ‘cancer to improve the quality of life, tolerance and effectiveness of treatments. “Fatigue, anorexia, sleep disturbances…. The circadian system (alternating activity-rest, wakefulness-sleep, rhythm of meals, hormonal rhythms …) intervenes on the molecular clocks which reside in the cells of the liver, intestines, skin, etc … Hence the importance a programmed power supply for example. These parameters can now be followed in patients’ homes and allow the personalization of cancer chronotherapy.

Note:

1. Dr Serge Rafal, The guide to gentle and anti-stress methods, Editions Marabout, 2012